The Force

The Force, was a metaphysical, binding, and ubiquitous power that held enormous importance for force wielders, such as the Jedi and Sith. It was created along with other physical forces during Genesis, and was present in all places in the Universe.

The Force was carried by vions, which were affected by certain immensely complicated chemical structures, most often those found in lifeforms. Some intelligent lifeforms could manipulate the Force to do their bidding, these individuals were known as Force wielders. The Force was capable of unleashing immense amounts of energy, although always drawing on power from other parts of the Universe.

The Force was known to millions of cultures throughout the Galaxy and the Universe, and often had an important place in religion. It was known invariably as viism, midichlorian power, the Unifying Force, the Living Force, the Way, potentium, the Ashla, the Power of the Cosmos, the Way of the Dark, the Will of the Universe, the Insidious Force, the White Current, aura and magic.

Etymology
The Force was known by thousands of different names throughout the Galaxy.

Scientifically it was known as viism, from the zhell and ancient basic languages, translating to life effect or life energy, due to the realization that life and the Force were connected. The force carrying particles, the vions, were similarly named, translating to life particles or life carriers.

In scientific context, the Force was sometimes also known as the Unifying Force or the Living Force, in order to differentiate it from other types of force such as gluism or gravity, though when such terms were used by Force wielders themselves, especially monastic orders, they referred to specific aspects of the Force

Certain scientific orders such as the Je'Daii and Gray Jedi used the word potentium to describe the Force viewing it as a neutral power that was inherently neither good nor evil, and could be used for various purposes. The Gray Jedi also called the Force the Ashla, viewing it as inherently benevolent power. In ancient times, the Je'Daii referred to the Force as the Way.

Cronal and his associates viewed the Force as inherantly chaotic and destructive, referring to it by such terms as the Way of the Dark and the Will of the Universe. Darth Traya referred to the Force as the Insidious Force, due to her belief in it's cruel, ruthless nature.

The Fallanassi referred to the Force as the White Current.

Some Force wielding orders used the term Aura to describe the Force, whilst others, such as the Nightsisters of Dathomir, used the term Magic.

The Kwa, although they were not known to have formed a force-wielding order, had great knowledge of the Force, using the term power of the cosmos to describe it.

The Yuuzhan Vong used the term Midichlorian Power to describe the Force - a power they themselves were unable to use - realizing that Midi-Chlorians played an important role in enhancing an intelligent lifeform's ability to manipulate the Force.

The Jedi, Sith, Dark Jedi and most other Force wielders in the Galaxy used the term the Force, often using terms such as light side and dark side to describe different uses of the Force.

Nature and Aspects
Many orders of Force wielders, especially the Jedi and the Sith, viewed the Force as many different aspects, including, but not limited to, the light side, the dark side, the Unifying Force, the Living Force and the Cosmic Force.

The first two aspects were concerned with the moral compass of the Force and the beings who used it. The light side of the Force was the facet aligned with discipline, selflessness, healing, self-sacrifice, humility and benevolence charity, while the dark side of the Force was the element aligned with passion, emotion, desire, personal well being and often fear, hatred, aggression, malevolence, pride, pursuit of power and destruction.

The Unifying Force and the Living Force were defined by prominent Jedi philosophies: The Unifying Force essentially embraced space and time in its entirety while the Living Force dealt with the energy of living things.

The Cosmic Force was a fifth aspect of The Force, described by senior Jedi Masters as a the power the Force had on the Universe itself, including its physical influences on the structure of the Universe. Through the Living Force, the Cosmic Force made possible the phenomenon of Force ghosts, which manifested themselves in the physical form of subatomic particles, and were able to move through space instantaneously, unbound by physical limitations such as lightspeed.

The term Physical Force was sometimes used by Force wielders to describe the way the Force manifested itself to allow a wielder to move objects.

Use by Force Wielders
Though the Force was categorized in this way, there were no specific abilities or powers that were only usable by a follower of a different path of the Force; the Force partially existed inside the life forms that used it, and drew energy from their emotions.

Some beings, particularly the Sith, believed that the dark side of the Force was more powerful than the light, though it was possible that the dark side was just more tempting to those who used it (or desired to use it). Others thought of the Force as an entity capable of intelligent thought, almost as a sort of god. Anakin Skywalker, who was believed to have been conceived by the Force itself, may have; if this belief is correct; lent credit towards the view of the Force as a sentient entity.

Though the Force was thought to flow through every living thing, it could only be harnessed by beings described as "Force-sensitive". Within lifeforms based on Celestial Biochemistry, this Force-sensitivity was correlated with, and sometimes attributed to, a high count of internal micro-organisms called midi-chlorians that were found in a Force-sensitive's blood: the higher the count, the greater the being's potential Force ability, though there were some exceptions to this rule.

Force-sensitive beings were able to tap into the Force and draw upon vast amounts of power, allowing them to unleash large amounts of energy, move massive objects and perform athletic feats normally considered physically impossible. They could also use the Force to better sense their surroundings and even predict events, allowing Force wielders to evade attacks by Firearms with astonishing skill. Through meditation, Force wielders could also use the Force to see further into the Future.

Unusual phenomena relating to the Force
The Rakatan Force-enabled hyperdrives allowed them to travel to hyperspace.

The ysalamiri were a species of tree-dwelling lizard-like creatures that were immune to most effects of the Force. The creatures exuded a "bubble" which "pushes back" Force energy, making them useful tools for individuals (such as Grand Admiral Thrawn) requiring a means to nullify a Jedi's abilities. They originated on the world of Myrkr. It is mentioned that the ysalamir, when put together, create a much more extensive bubble, sometimes expanding a few kilometers outside their native forest. They evolved this trait to survive being hunted by the predatory vornskrs, pack animals that hunted by tracking down live prey using the Force.

A creature with a similar peculiarity was the taozin, a large, gelatinous predator. Though not widely known, at least one of these creatures was alive deep in the undercity of Coruscant approximately ten years before the Clone Wars.

Gurlanins could also 'hide' themselves from the Force, though they could also make themselves detectable in the Force at will if they chose to.

While not immune to the Force, Hutts were highly resistant, having an innate defense against Force-based mind manipulation.

Toydarians were immune to mind tricks as well. The Yinchorri and the Dashades were also largely unaffected by Force mental manipulation, and were thus both utilized to varying degrees by the Emperor; the Yinchorri during the period surrounding the Stark Hyperspace War and the Dashadi during the first few years following the Great Jedi Purge.

Additionally, Force-resistant creatures called terentateks were a major threat to the Jedi. Some suspected that they were created by the Sith to hunt down the Jedi. Periodically, the Jedi held a Great Hunt in an attempt to hunt down and destroy all of the terentateks. The monsters appeared to be extremely long-lived and resilient.

Although not natural, voxyn could hunt Jedi and other Force users by noticing their "Force scent." Like all other Yuuzhan Vong biots, they were immune to direct manipulation by the Force and could not be sensed by Jedi. This, in addition to their other abilities, made them a significant threat to the Jedi Order.

Hssiss could influence Force-sensitive beings around them. If bitten by an hssiss, one would succumb to the effects of a dark side poison. Hssiss also had the ability to conceal themselves and become invisible, possibly doing so through the Force.

Sith magic was sometimes considered outside of the Force by some of its practitioners, though how much of that is true is unconfirmed.

The Yuuzhan Vong could not be sensed or affected directly by the Force as they had been stripped of it around 15,000 BBY. However, it was theorized by some Jedi, particularly Jacen Solo that the Vong were connected to the Force in a way that the Jedi could not sense, because the Jedi believed that all life depended on a symbiotic relationship with the Force to at least some degree.

However, the notion that all life was dependent on the Force was apparently disproven by the Jedi Knight Meetra Surik. During the Battle of Malachor she cut herself off from the Force so completely that she became a Wound in the Force, completely dead to it and completely disconnected from it. The Sith Lord Darth Traya viewed Surik as definitive proof that life could exist independently of the Force and sought to exploit Surik's condition to suit her own ends.